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The Battle of Kadesh: Identifying New Kingdom Polities, Places, And

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The Battle of Kadesh: Identifying New Kingdom Polities, Places, And 5IF#BUUMFPG,BEFTI*EFOUJGZJOH/FX,JOHEPN 1PMJUJFT 1MBDFT BOE1FPQMFTJOCanaan and Syria1 Michael G. Hasel Institute of Archaeology, Southern Adventist University Abstract ary Record,” “Bulletin,” and “Reliefs” indi- cates that the Egyptians were remarkably In 1950 J.A. Wilson published a footnote consistent in their designation of these for- citing the “notorious carelessness” of Egyp- eign entities. Further suggestions are given tian scribal convention in assigning deter- on establishing the Egyptian perspective of minatives to foreign names in the standard foreign names through textual analysis in reference work Ancient Near Eastern Texts. comparison with archaeological data. This note influenced numerous scholars outside the field of Egyptology without Introduction any careful study of the evidence. This brief study readdresses the issue of scribal con- Ever since the first documenta- vention in writing foreign names from the perspective of the most widely published tion of Egyptian monuments by event during the Egyptian New Kingdom: Napoleon’s Commission for the the Battle of Kadesh. A statistical analysis of Arts and Sciences, Egypt’s contacts foreign names in the copies of the “Liter- with foreign polities, places, and peoples have captivated Egyptolo- 1 This study was conducted while the gists and historians of the ancient author was a Fulbright Senior Scholar Near East. The military campaigns at the Cyprus Archaeological Research of Egypt against surrounding areas Institute (CAARI), Nicosia, Cyprus (2005). Special thanks are extended to produced vivid depictions of their 2 Thomas Davis, director of CAARI and exploits. Here was a source of staff; Daniel Hadjitoffi, director of the new information that could elu- Cyprus Fulbright Commission and staff; cidate these ancient peoples from the library staff of the Cyprus Department an Egyptian perspective. Libyan, of Antiquities, American Research Center Kushite, and Asiatic people groups, in Egypt, École Biblique et Archeologique Français; and the W.F. Albright Institute of and even empires such as the Hit- Archaeological Research. Appreciation is tites, were now accessible. Scenes extended to the following individuals for showing the Egyptian king smit- reading and commenting on earlier drafts of this paper: Thomas Davis, Kenneth 2 On Egyptian military activity in gen- Kitchen, and Peter Brand. The author eral, see Lundh, Actor and Event; Spalin- accepts responsibility for its content and ger, War in Ancient Egypt; Gundlach and conclusions. Earlier versions of this paper Vogel, Militärgeschichte des Pharaonischen were read at the annual meetings of the Ägypten; on specifically the 19th and 20th American Oriental Society and the Ameri- Dynasties, see Hasel, Domination and can Schools of Oriental Research. Resistance. 66 MICHAEL G. HASEL ing his enemies became ideological a sensation in biblical scholarship, symbols for expressing his restora- for many believed it contained tion of ma’at,3 and the depiction the first extra-biblical reference to of the Nine Bows on the footstools Israel.8 The first translation by W. and sandals of Tutankhamun illus- Spiegelberg of the toponym made trated vividly his domination and note of the fact that the designation power.4 The Egyptian description was followed by the determina- and representation of these new tive for people.9 Its designation as entities led to several detailed stud- a people or socioethnic entity was ies. From 1925 through 1931, H. widely accepted by Egyptologists Gauthier produced seven volumes for almost a century.10 on Egyptian geographical names.5 8 Four years later W. Wreszinski Petrie, Temples of Thebes, pls. X-XIV. 9 Seated man and woman over three conducted his detailed art histori- strokes indicating the plural (Gardiner, cal study in which he attempted to Egyptian Grammar, A1, 442), Spiegelberg, further define the ethnicity of vari- “Der Siegeshymnus des Merneptah,” 23; ous Asiatic groups.6 Alan Gardiner’s Spiegelberg, “Zu der Erwähnung Israels in Ancient Egyptian Onomastica con- dem Merneptah-Hymnus,” 404 n. 5. 10 tinues to be a standard reference Steindorff, “Israel in einer altägyp- 7 tischen Inschrift”; Breasted, “The Israel work. But in the last 30 years many Tablet”; ARE 4:258; Erman, Literatur der of these widely accepted identifica- Aegypter, 346 n. 3; Williams, “‘Israel Stele’ tions based on the Egyptian textual of Merneptah,” 140; Kitchen, “Historical and iconographic evidence have Method”; Kitchen, Ancient Orient and been challenged. By way of intro- Old Testament, 59-60; Lichtheim, Ancient duction, two of these entities are Egyptian Literature, Vol. 2, 77; Ebach, “Israel, Israelstele”; Hornung, “Israelste- addressed here. le,” 232; Kaplony-Heckel, “Die Israel- The discovery of the Merneptah Stele des Mer-en-ptah,” 552; Goedicke “A stela in 1896 by W.F. Petrie caused Comment on the Name ‘Israel’”; Yurco, “Merneptah’s Canaanite Campaign,” 190 3 Hall, The Pharaoh Smites His Enemies: A n. 3; Yurco, “Merneptah’s Wars,” 498-500; Comparative Study. Murnane, “History of Egypt,” 351; Red- 4 Eaton-Krauss, The Thrones, Chairs, ford, “Ashkelon Relief at Karnak,” 188-90; Stools, and Footstools from the Tomb of Tut- Redford, “Merneptah,” 701; Hoffmeier, ankhamun, 215, pl. LXV; 216, pl. LXVII; Israel in Egypt, 30; Hoffmeier, “(Israel) 217, pl. LXVIII. Stela of Merneptah,” 41; Bietak, “Der Auf- 5 Gauthier, Dictionnaire des noms enthalts ‘Israels’ in Ägypten,” 194; Görg, géographiques contenus dans les textes hiéro- “Israel in Hieroglyphen,” 21; Morenz, glyphiques. “Wortwitz – Ideologie – Geschichte,” 1-2. 6 Wreszinski, Atlas zur altägyptischen For an overview of the interpretation of Kulurgeschichte. Israel, see Hasel, “Israel in the Merneptah 7 Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomostica; Stela”; Hasel, “Merneptah’s Inscription see also the work by Ahituv, Canaanite and Reliefs”; Hasel, “The Structure of the Toponyms in Ancient Egyptian Documents. Hymnic-Poetic Unit on the Merneptah .
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